Easy Crafts on a Budget for Kids 4 to 104: June 2013

Monday, June 24, 2013

Cat Scratcher Toy

We were at a pet store the other day, looking at the cats, and checking out
products, when I was inspired by this idea. I don't know that this falls under
the "crafts" category, but I'm sharing it anyway.

I am trying to encourage my cat to play with his toys, rather than
scratch my furniture.

This project is easy, fast and uses a recycled plastic pop bottle and
twine.

You need: 1 plastic bottle about 20 ounce size
Jute twine
Masking tape and Glue

Tape an end of twine to the lower part of your plastic bottle. Start wrapping
the container tightly with twine. As you wrap, push the twine down, so that
it is wound with no gaps. It may get a little tricky on the curves. I had
to tape over the twine with masking tape, to hold it in place, as I reached
the upper part of the container.

Add glue as you go. When you've wrapped the entire container, add
glue; cut the end of twine and press down on the glue. Tape over
the twine end, to hold in place while the glue dries. VOILA!
You've made a fun cat scratcher for your cat.

Hint: Before cutting the twine, when you've finished wrapping your bottle, you
may form a long loop, to hang the "scracher" over a door knob, so that it
will easily be reached by your cat. Just tape in place and glue the ends down,
and wrap more twine over the ends, to hold the loop in place.

It took a couple of days, before my cat would play with it. Now he
grabs it and rolls it around and chases it!

This is fun. I can grab it with my claws.

"It's mine. You can't have it"


"I told you it's mine."

Buy Easy Crafts on a Budget for Kids 4 to 104, a great book for parents here:

http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Crafts-Budget-Kids-Volume/dp/0615640826

Monday, June 17, 2013

Kids Decorative Wall Letter

This is a fun and easy paper project.

You need : a piece of foam board
                  an X acto knife
                  modpodge glue or elmers glue
                  a ruler or t square
                  decorative trim
                  or felt tip markers
                  a paint brush
tape

Look at fonts on the internet, in a newspaper or in a magazine, to get ideas for the style of letters

you want to make. Sketch the letters on the foam board using your ruler, and then cut out.
Take your decorative trim, and add it to the letter free style. Tape any loose ends on the back side of the foam board. You can use markers to draw designs on the letter, or create pictures on the letter.
Another option would be to cut out pictures from magazines and glue them down to the letter.

Once you have your designs on the letter, coat with 2 layers of glue. Hang it on a wall
as a decoration.

If you'd like to have it stand up on a shelf, cut out two letters in the beginning, and glue them
together before adding the designs.

Enjoy!


Foam board letter cut out


Add decorative trim

Make a Photo Cube


Finished Photo Cube by Fuego Phoenix

This idea taken from the book, Decorating with Papercraft, by Clare Youngs.
I modified the idea, by adding color photographs, and decorative borders. You may
opt for a "no frills" look, keeping it simple with only photos.

Adding gold cardstock to the bottom


Copyright c. 2013 Fuego Phoenix All Rights Reserved

Trim I used called fancy frills cardboard stickers by doodlebug design, inc.

Here's what you need:

5 photographs of your family, child or favorite pet
1 sheet of cardstock or watercolor paper at least 16 inches by 12 inches
utility knife
glue stick, Elmer's glue, or Mod Podge glue
ruler
pen
masking tape or scotch tape
1 sheet of decorative paper or gold cardstock
optional: fancy cardstock stickers for framing, found at Hobby Lobby in the scrapbook section

Enlarge the template shown above to 400 percent, depending on the size of
your photos. (Our photos were 4 inches by 6 inches, so we made our cube with 4 inch by
4 inch dimensions. Cut out the template, and fold on the dotted lines

Score along dotted lines, then fold along the edges. Tape on the inside and outside
corners. Fold the top in place, and tape.

Add colored paper to what will be the bottom of your cube. Take a piece of paper,
crease it over the edges of the cube, then cut out. Glue into place, leaving enough
to go over the edges to the sides of the cube.

Take one of the photographs, center it over one of the sides of the cube. Trim
as needed. Place glue all over the side of the cube where the photo will go. Press
the photo lightly in place. Wipe off any excess glue with a cloth. Repeat this step
for the other sides, and top of the cube.

This step is optional.
To finish off the edges, where the photos didn't meet exactly, I added trim
from fancy frills borders by doodlebug design, inc. These are a perfect detail
for the cube. They add a nice touch, and come in all colors.

.
Enlarge template 400 percent to accomodate 4 inch photos. Cut on the solid lines, fold on the dotted lines.

Buy Easy Crafts on a Budget for Kids 4 to 104 here: http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Crafts-Budget-Kids-Volume/dp/0615640826

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Western Theme Home Accents

I've always liked Western furniture. However, adding
a piece of furniture, might not be in the budget. You can
create Western theme pillows, and boxes, using fabric
scraps.

The lasso box shown below is made with a recycled wooden
box. The lower sides and bottom are finished with leather scraps
and red upholstery trim. The top features a fabric scrap
showing a cowboy, framed in black trim, and twine to finish
the look.


Copyright c. 2013 Fuego Phoenix All Rights Reserved


Copyright c. 2013 Fuego Phoenix. All Rights Reserved

The blue and white striped pillow features a rectangle fabric piece of a cowboy in the center, framed by red bandana fabric. The blue and red "Cowboys around the campfire" box is made from a
recycled cigar box, and black and white striped ribbon, red bandana scraps and red fringe trim.

For a seriously fun Western look, try leather scraps and twine on a box, or cowhide and
nail head trim as shown below.


Copyright c. 2013. Fuego Phoenix. All Rights Reserved

For this look, I stained a wooden box that I purchased in Mexico, added cowhide to the top,
and nailhead trim.

For the cabinet above, I recycled an oak furniture piece I found at a thrift store. I had some Western
theme tapestry fabric, which I stapled to the front drawer, and door panels. I framed the edges
of the fabric, with leather trim, and upholstery trim. I sprayed the fabric with Scotchguard, to
make it water resistant. On the sides of the cabinet, I added faux leather. It makes a perfect TV stand.

Buy Easy Crafts on a Budget for Kids 4 to 104 here: http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Crafts-Budget-Kids-Volume/dp/0615640826